Uploaded on 2015-11-22 by ManuelAntunes

The main reasons of the UHI effect in my place of residence (Vila Nova de Famalicão, Portugal) is the increasing industrialization that took place in industrial zones in the surroundings of the city. The needs of dislocation to the work places increases significantly the use of cars and buses which contributes to air pollution and the emission of greenhouse gases and high oil consumption. Also, the increasing use of the car and bus for human transportation have led to the construction of new roads. This paving of more and more spaces with dark materialization that can't reflect solar radiation increases the temperature significantly of the urban zones. Another effect of the increasing industrialization is the increasing population and the densification of the construction platform in the city. This densification leads to low wind velocities and lower heat exchange, resulting in higher air temperatures. Living in an southeuropean country which has summer temperatures of 30-35° celsius, the use of air conditioning systems are very high, leading to high consumption of energy and reducing outdoor thermal comfort. The heat variation of my city and its rural areas is 1-2° celsius (personal conclusion). Reasons for the small heat variation, compared to US-cities are mainly the size and the small densification. ![City Vila Nova de Famalicão][1] ![Main street in Vila Nova de Famalicão][2] This two images above shows the high density of construction and cars. ![Street in surroundings][3] ![digite a descrição da imagem aqui][4] This two images above shows the low density of construction and cars. If you could take part in the decision making process of an initiative related to the UHI effect, which are the measures that you would propose in order to reduce it and provide a more livable environment to the citizens? To provide a more livable environment to the citizens, i would create more green parks of recreation and more vegetation in the squares of the city. Thus, this places received more outdoor thermal comfort. Also i would seal the main streets with vegetation to create solar reflection and shadow and noise reduction. Another act will be the creation of an public transportation with low emission, like a tram to provide the transportation from the city center to the industrial surroundings. Do you know of policies in your community that are planned to reduce the UHI effect? Provide us with information regarding  any visible results. In my community there are a few plans to reduce the UHI effect, namely the construction of green spaces and the controlled densification of the city. An example of this is the new opened public city park (Parque da Devesa) with 27 ha of green area. ![Parque da Devesa][5] [1]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/1448225571320593.jpg [2]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14482265231185815.jpg [3]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14482267881573883.jpg [4]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14482268213739845.jpg [5]: https://edxuploads.s3.amazonaws.com/14482271342413682.jpg